Following the departure of Dwayne Wade for Li-Ning, Jordan Brand is expected to formally announce Blake Griffin as a Jumpman squad member.

Blake Griffin

Griffin, who signed with Nike during his rookie season in 2009-10, was wearing a royal blue version of the Jordan Brand Super Fly sneakers during the Clippers’ season opener at home on Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

If this indeed marks a partnership, it will find the high-riser joining the likes of recent Jordan Brand member Russell Westbrook and long tenured endorses Carmelo Anthony and current teammate Chris Paul under Michael Jordan’s line of shoes and apparel.

Dwyane Wade has departed from Jordan Brand for Li-Ning according to a source familiar with the situation, as well as Li-Ning sponsored basketball player Evan Turner, who tweeted a message welcoming D Wade to the brand.

Dwyane Wade

There had been much speculation that Wade would depart from the brand after news that he would not be debuting a new signature shoe.

Wade’s landing at Li-Ning now leaves the Chinese brand with a growing roster of talented players in the NBA.

According to a person familiar with the negotiations, the owners and players met initially at about 2 p.m. ET and broke up to discuss the situation privately among themselves.

The players were furious at seeing first hand the owners’ offer of 46 percent of basketball-related income (BRI), down from their previous level of 57 percent, were unanimous about what to do.

“Let’s go,” one of the players said, according to a source. “There’s no reason to go back in there.” The players decided to return to the bargaining room with a much smaller group.

Among those joining Derek Fisher for the second session were LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Baron Davis and committee member Chris Paul. None of the players joining Fisher sat down during this portion of the talks, a person with knowledge of the meetings said.

Dwyane Wade sees the Knicks as a growing threat in the Eastern Conference and believes they may be one key player away from becoming a serious contender.

Dwyane Wade

“Every team over the years that has been successful has had three guys averaging at least 15 points or more,” Wade told The Daily News on Thursday. “They need a third guy but he doesn’t have to be the same caliber of Carmelo (Anthony) and Amar’e (Stoudemire).”

“They don’t need a superstar to be successful,” Wade added. “Teams have won without three superstars. They have two great players. They just need to continue to add pieces. What they need is other player that is consistent…but I don’t want to give them the recipe.”

More news is expected this week on NBA players signing deals to play overseas during the lockout, including what one source described Monday as “half a dozen All-Stars.”

Kobe Bryant

Several deals are expected to go down in China, though the kind of money needed to lure the biggest stars is not there unless it is Kobe Bryant, said a person familiar with ongoing negotiations among NBA agents and Chinese basketball authorities.

For example, Dwyane Wade — who joined Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul on a recent Jordan Brand tour of China — is not expected to be one of the top-shelf NBA players getting paid in China because “no one is going to pay him the kind of money he wants.”

Shaquille O’Neal’s debut as a full-fledged NBA analyst had him raving about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. As for Chris Bosh? Apparently, Shaq’s not a big fan of his work.

Shaquille O'Neal

During NBA TV’s show Tuesday to announce the league’s schedule for the 2011-12 season — one jeopardized by a lockout — O’Neal referred to the Heat as having a “Big 2.” Since Bosh, Wade and James teamed up in Miami, they’ve been called the “Big 3″ in many circles.

“The Miami Heat, they’ve got a lot of great players, the `Big 2.’ They will be back,” O’Neal said from Louisiana during the broadcast, when discussing the NBA finals and how Dallas was able to beat Miami for the title. “LeBron James is taking a lot of criticism, but I know LeBron very well. He hears everything that everyone is saying, so I think he’s going to come back and have an MVP year this year.”